Four Mount Marty Soccer Players Listed As Honorable Mentions For GPAC All-Conference Team

The 2008 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) men’s and women’s soccer all-conference teams have been selected. The first and second teams consist of 13 members each. Two male Lancers and two female Lancers were recognized as Honorable Mentions by the conference.

Derek Otton, junior, of Mesa, Ariz.; David Mueller, sophomore, of Omaha, Neb.; April Dolezal, sophomore, of Schuyler, Neb.; and Lauren Donlin, junior, of Auburn, Wash., were recognized for their efforts during the 2008 soccer season.

Coach Dan Hendricks said the Lancer men’s soccer team had its most successful season ever in the history of the sport at Mount Marty.

“We were 3-2 in non-conference games and just missed out on the playoffs in conference play,” he said. “Even though we had such a young team (10 freshmen and only 2 seniors) we were still able to make strides and we’re happy with the season we had. At the same time, we are disappointed we didn’t make our goal of making the conference tournament.”

Hendricks said he definitely wasn’t disappointed by Otton.

 “Derek was an outstanding player for us this season. He was our goalie and really kept us in so many games this season,” he said. “Even though Derek was first in the conference with saves he still managed to get second in the conference in save percentage, which doesn’t happen very often. Derek was a real leader for us, he does not except anything but 100 percent from his players and everyone knows it. He makes everyone work harder to achieve our goals.”

Mueller, who serves as team captain, also garnered praise from his coach.

“Dave was a very reliable player for us this season. As our centerback and Captain he was a leader for our defense. He organized our defense at all times and during most of the game was on the other team’s top forward,” he said. “Dave is someone I have very high standards for, only because I know he can achieve them. Tehre are times I am more critical of him than others. Combine that with him being a captain and he has a lot of responsibility on this team. Dave has never backed down from any of it and it only makes him better and our team better.”

Hendricks also thought the women’s team had a successful season.

“We saw so many girls make a ton of improvement as individuals and we saw the whole team get better as the season went on,” he said. “As a coach if you can say you were better at the end of the season than you were at the beginning, you have to be pleased. We had a group of girls who fought hard for each other and are ready to build on this success for next year and for the seasons to come. We were again a very young team with no seniors on our roster, so we look forward to returning everyone and moving forward.”
Dolezal was an impressive player throughout the season, Hendricks said.

“April was a stud for us defensively this year. She played about half the season at goalie and at one point was in the top 3 in the nation for saves and save percentage,” he said. “She played centerback the rest of  the season and led our defense with tons of heart and passion. She is our captain and is such a hard-working individual and makes everyone around her better just by leading by example.”

Hendricks also had nothing but kind words to say about Donlin.

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